Apple TV To Offer Access To BBC iPlayer Service?

I find it impossible to believe that anyone missed Apple's product refreshes yesterday so you should know that AppleTV is now able to access the iTunes store without needing a PC and thus download films and TV programmes directly to the device. What you can't do though, is watch good old British TV which is a crying shame and marvellously one that the BBC is apparently set to remedy by bringing the iPlayer to AppleTV, an amusing twist given the names (think about it).

According to the BBC Internet Blog on which the info was posted (By Ashley Highfield, Director of Future Media And Technology), the new refinements made to AppleTV, such as time limited downloads, will fit with the current operating model that the BBC is required to conform to, namely a 30 day limit on downloads, although presumably there would be no limitation on re-watching iPlayer content as there is on films. Bearing in mind that Virgin Media's cable TV service will be seeing iPlayer tie-in functionality later this year the precedent is there, so to speak.

According to Highfield the biggest obstacle in the way of rolling out the iPlayer is making it simple enough to use on the various platforms. Specifically he wants "a solution simple enough {for} my mum can install" which sounds very cliché but is a fair point. Hopefully we'll see some further development on this post haste, because as everyone knows the absolute epitome of AppleTV will come when I can use it to watch Torchwood and Eastenders QI and Have I Got News For You.